Charmed?
by Maetro
Summary: An alternate ending to Season 4. What might have happened if they had given up their powers. Can they live without their powers? A look at the sisters relationship without magic. Paige Piper Pheobe bondingsister moments, some Piper Leo Ch.13 270707
1. Chapter 1

**Charmed?**

**by Maetro**

**Disclaimer:**They're not mine, I just like to play with 'em.

**Chapter One**

The Angel of Destiny snapped his fingers and the air felt charged as it brightened with a pale blue light. When it faded he smiled, wished them goodluck and faded away leaving the sisters standing in the middle of the living room glancing around.

"I don't feel any different," Pheobe said after a moment, shaking out her arms and rolling her head as if to be sure. "Do you?"

Piper paused for a moment, considering then shook her head. "No. Paige?"

She glanced over at her youngest sister, who shrugged. "I don't think so."

"Try orbing."

Paige nodded and shifted her shoulders, the way she did as she prepared to orb but nothing happened. With a sigh she dropped down onto the couch. "Nothing."

A moment of silence followed as what had just happened sunk in then Pheobe let out a laugh.

"It's really happened," she said, her face lighting up with a smile. "We're not Charmed, anymore. We should go out, celebrate. Get dressed, up, hit the town," she said, her smile spreading. Piper nodded in agreement, a grin forming on her face as well.

Paige stood up abruptly. "Not me. I don't really feel like this is something we should be celebrating."

Piper and Phoebe exchanged glances.

"It is a good thing, Paige, you'll see." Pheobe said, reaching out a hand to her. "I know you love being a witch I do too. But, it's hard and painful sometimes. Now, you won't have to go through some of the things we went through."

Paige stepped back, and Pheobe's hand slid off her shoulder and fell to her side. "Fine. Whatever. I'll be upstairs." She brushed past them on her way out of the living room.

"Paige. Paige." Piper reached out and tried to grab her arm but Paige dodged her and dissapeared up the stairs. "Should we be worried?" she asked, turning to Pheobe, who was staring after Paige.

"She'll come around," Pheobe said.

"Are you sure?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah. It took her awhile to get used to be a witch. It'll take some time for her to get used to not being a witch too."

"I hope your right."

Me too, Pheobe thought. Me too.

Paige knew she was acting like a five year old, throwing a tantrum and then storming up to her room but she couldn't help it. Not when something so important to her was being taken away and there wasn't anything she could do about it. She'd fought hard against giving up their powers but as usual, Pheobe and Piper had decided against her and she'd been outnumbered. Angrily she threw herself down onto her bed, feeling the warm sting of tears.

Downstairs she could hear her sisters getting ready to go out, their muted voices and laughter drifting up to her in bursts, though she couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

Footsteps on the stairs made her tense. She listened as they came down the hallway and stopped outside her door. "Paige, we're leaving now," Pheobe called softly through the door. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Paige ignored the question. The floor creaked as Pheobe shifted, waiting for an answer.

"We're going to P3 if you change your mind," Pheobe said. Another moment of silence then her footsteps retreated.

Downstairs the heavy wooden door swung open then shut and Paige was alone in the quiet.

It was still early and not much of a crowd had formed at the club yet. A scattering of tables were occupied and a handful of others milled about around the bar or the stage area where the local band that was playing had compensated for the small audience by dimming the lights, setting up stools at the front of the stage and turning their performance semi-interactive giving the club an intimite rather than empty feel.

Piper and Pheobe sat apart from the rest of the crowd on one of the low couches tucked into the corner, a bottle of champagne from Piper's private stash on the table and a glass each in hand.

"A toast," Pheobe said, raising her glass. "To being charming, but no longer Charmed."

Smiling, Piper touched her glass to Pheobe's then took a sip. "I can't believe it," she said, swirling the champagne in her glass. "It feels like a dream and I'm worried I'm going to wake up from it any moment."

"Want me to pinch you, reassure you that you're not?"

Piper shifted out of Pheobe's reach, just barely dodging her fingers. "Don't you dare."

Laughing, Pheobe settled back against the couch. "You know what I keep thinking? Of all the things I can do tomorrow without having to worry about having to drop everything because of a demon attack, like go to work and do my column without interruption. Get my nails done after work."

"I can have a romantic dinner with my husband."

"I come home and take a nice long, hot bath and spend the evening watching mindless reality tv."

"No more attacks at the club. No more anonymous phone calls to the cops or uncomfortable witness statements."

Once again they touched their glasses together in toast.

"Hey, who's the new bartender?" Pheobe asked as she poured herself a few more sips of champagne. "He's cute."

Piper followed Pheobe's gaze. "That's Lucas. He's" she trailed off as the man across the room cut around the bar to quickly and tripped on the corner of it, pitching forward and unsettling his tray of glasses. Piper's hands came up automatically to freeze him but without her powers it was a useless gesture and the glasses tumbled to the ground with a mighty crash. "Oooh," she moaned, gazing down at her raised arms. "Guess that's going to take some getting used to."

"You okay, Sweetie?"

Piper nodded. "A few broken glasses are worth it to have a normal life again."

It wasn't often that the manor to be this quiet, usually there was something going on, whether it was Leo some repair job or another, Piper working in the kitchen or Pheobe training downstairs or a demon attacking. Normally Paige relished the rare quiet moments but tonight the silence was stifling and there was nothing to distract her from her thoughts.

Feeling suddenly claustrophobic in her room she rolled of fthe bed and padded downstairs, turning on the stereo in the living room when she got there, thinking maybe that would help. She turned the volume up and paced the room restlessly, stopping when she reached the fireplace. On the mantel was an array of photo's, a few of their mother and Grams and one of Leo in his service uniform but most were of Prue, Piper and Pheobe at various points in their lives. Professional portraits as toddlers, candids at birthday parties and Christmas, before school dances and of course, the obligatory graduation photos. There were a few of Paige on the mantel as well, an elementary school photo, a couple of birthday pictures, a prom photo and her high school grad photo, but it was obvious that they didn't belong among the other photo's. None of the backgrounds were the same and she was alone in all of them. She wondered how long it would be before she was alone again, now that magic, the thing that had held them together, was gone.

You know the drill.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"This, celebrating, doesn't feel right without Paige," Pheobe said with a sigh, putting down her glass and leaning back against the couch. "I don't understand why she's being so resistant," she said.

Piper swirled the champagne in her glass and nodded in agreement. "She's acting like we're doing this to her, instead of for her. For all of us." She downed the last of her drink and set her glass on the table beside Pheobe's. It had taken Piper a long time to get used to the idea of having another sister and someone besides Prue completing the Charmed One's but she was slowly coming around to it.

Pheobe getting married and not being around as much then the whole Cole fiasco and the terrifying possibility of losing another sister had shaken Piper from her stupor and it was as if she started to truly see Paige, not as just a witch or a replacement but as a person, as a sister and had been mildly amazed by the person she'd seen. A competent, confident witch as well as an intelligent, warm woman who was struggling to connect with the sisters she had never known.

A flash of memory surfaced, the two of them in the kitchen one morning a few weeks ago. The look in Paige's eye, sadness masked by determined cheer, obviously expecting to be shut out yet again as she reached out. "_I know I'm not Pheobe but I'm still your sister. You can talk to me._ Piper had surprised both of them by opening up and had been taken aback by how good it had felt.

The two of them had lived together for months now and still had yet to spend any quality time together. They fought demons together, shared meals and were part of each other's daily routine but they'd never really connected. Never spent time together outside the manor. They'd had weeks when it was just to two of them, Pheobe living with Cole and Leo taking care of his charges more often than not and they'd continued to live like strangers, communicating through notes on the fridge about grocery shopping and who was going to take care of the chores. Paige was up and out of the house early for work, Piper was home late from the club. Unless a demon attacked they had little face-to-face contact. That she had let it go on without even noticing made Piper feel incredibly guilty.

There was a lot Piper needed to make up for. If only she hadn't been so wrapped up in her own pain, maybe some of the tension they were experiencing now could have been avoided. Maybe now without demons popping up all the time they would be able to spend some time together as sisters. If it wasn't too late. She picked up her glass, making a silent toast that she would improve her relationship with Paige and welcome her youngest sister into her life.

The house was in darkness when they got home, a little before 1:00, but when Piper went upstairs to change she saw light shining from beneath Paige's door. She knocked on it gently.

"Can I come in?"

"Don't see why not, it's your house."

Frowning, but refusing to take the bait, Piper pushed open the door and poked her head in. Paige had her easel set up by the window, working on something though either it wasn't far enough along or Piper was too far away to tell what it was. She didn't look up as Piper came in, didn't lower her brush, though she did stop painting.

"Hey, I know you're mad at me but can I ask a favour?"

Paige finally turned to look, saying nothing as she waited expectantly.

"I've got a doctors appointment tomorrow and I was wondering if you'd come with me? I think I might need some sisterly support."

"And you want me to go with you? What, is Pheobe busy?"

Piper bit her tongue, refusing to get angry.

"I don't know. I didn't ask Pheobe, I asked you."

"Oh." Paige sounded surprised. An unreadable expression flashed across her face then was gone as quickly as it had come. "Okay. Sure, I guess." Her tone was flat, non-commital.

"Well, don't put yourself out or anything," Piper snapped, and instantly regretted the words as Paige's shoulders slumped slightly.

The two of them sniping at each other like teenagers. A glimpse of what it might have been like if they'd grown up together.

She took a moment to consider that. She suspected Pheobe and Paige would have been close, two rambuctious, independent spirits getting into trouble and stirring tempers. Just as she suspected Prue would have been Paige's confidant. Even though there would have been quite an age gap between them they had similar temperments. It would have been Prue tempering things when they got bad between Paige and Piper. the way Piper had often done for Prue and Pheobe.

With a sigh she rubbed her eyes. "Sorry. It's been a long day."

"Yeah," Paige said with a small nod. "I'm sorry too. I'm just tired."

Piper hesitated in the doorway a moment. "Good night, Sweetie. Don't stay up too late huh?" she said as she backed out of the room and pulled the door closed behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:I'm planning on this being a short story to explore the relationship between the sisters in areas that the show just touched on. I'm glad to see that you guys are interested in reading it and I hope that I won't dissapoint.

The answers to your questions about Chris, Wyatt and Leo will be answered soon.

Thanks for reading.

Chapter 3

Not yet ready to go to bed Pheobe slipped upstairs to the attic. She stood for a moment in the center, contemplating how familiar this room was to her now. After nearly a lifetime of rarely even coming up here the attic had become a place of solace for her. Her eyes trailed around the room and settled on the book, still on the stand under the window, as if waiting for them to come running up here to flip through its pages. They wouldn't need to do that anymore though.

Treading quietly in her stocking feet she moved across the room, picked up the book and settled on the couch under the window. For a long moment she stared at the cover, tracing her finger along the edges of the triquetra. Three points woven seamlessly together. She remembered the night she found the book as vividly as if it had been yesterday.

She'd been terrified of coming back and facing Prue again, afraid that her older sister would still hate her, still wouldn't believe her, would still have that look of disdain and dissaproval in her eyes. But after losing her job in New York and low on funds and opportunites she hadn't much of a choice. So she'd packed up her meager belongings and headed home. She remembered how much her hand had shook as she'd put the key in the lock. So much so that it had taken her three tries. Heart pounding in her ears and stomach full of butterflies she'd put on as much bravdo as she could muster and swept inside.

It seemed so long ago now, the two of them glaring at each other across the foyer. A lot had happened since then, good and bad, that bridged the gap between them bringing them closer than they had been in years. Not that there hadn't been bumps along the way, because they'd definately gone toe-to-toe a few times.

Pheobe smiled now, remembering the way Prue's eyes would sparkle with intensity when they argued. Or the way the side of her mouth would curve up as she tried to be stern and not smile, until finally, unbidden her whole face would light up and she'd let out a half-laugh, half-sigh, exasperated by whatever Pheobe had done but at the same time amused, maybe even impressed.

Like when Pheobe had read from the book, calling on their powers and making them witches. Sure, she'd denied being taken in by it the next day but Pheobe had seen her intitial reaction. For a moment, she'd believed and she'd given Pheobe that look. The one that was a mix of affection and annoyance that said "what am I going to do with you?"

God, how she missed Prue.

She wished that her older sister could be here now, to experience this with them. How much she would have loved this, to have accomplished so much as witches. She would have been so proud that they'd fullfilled their destiny as witches and were free to live normal lives.

Pheobe blinked away tears as she carefully turned the cover of the book and let her eyes travel across the first page, remembering how the words had felt in her mouth the first time she'd read them, how right it had felt in that moment. As if some part of her had known that this was what she was meant to do.

She turned the pages slowly, each one with a memory attached. A crisis diverted, a demon vanquished, an innocent saved.

More so than either of her two older sisters, Pheobe had thrived on being a witch. She'd loved the sense of purpose it had given her and would miss that.

But the cost had become too great. It was magic that had taken her sister and her husband. Not to mention the emotional toll of losing innocents.

With a soft sigh she closed the book and rose from her comfortable spot. She padded across the room and placed it in the chest that she had originally unearthed it from, letting the lid close with a definitive thud then turned and walked out of the attic.

Please feed the feedback monkey

( (O) (O) )


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you guys for reading and for your reviews. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and I hope you continue too.

With this story I'm trying to fill what I believe to be a gap in the development in the relationship between the sisters and it's mostly interpretation on my part of what I think was going on and what should have happened so it means a lot to me that you appreciate what I'm doing.

Chapter 4.

Piper had never liked going to the doctors and hated it even more now, when she was going to receive bad news. The doctor had told them to keep trying to get pregnant and for the first little while Piper had been determined to do just that but every time she sat in this chair and saw the quiet sympathy in the doctors eyes her resolve faded a little bit more and her heart grew heavier.

This time was no different. She sat slumped in the chair in the doctor's office eyeing the diplomas and charts on the wall waiting on pins and needles for the results of the blood test she'd taken a few days ago. Paige perched on the chair beside her, gripping her hand and staring up at the ceiling to avoid accidently catching site of the syringes in the see-through cupboard on the wall.

The door opened and they both jumped at the sound. Piper's heart immediately started beating double time and the only sound she could hear was the rythmn of it in her head.

"Mrs. Halliwell... results...blood test..." the words came at her through a fog. "happy...you're pregnant...congradulations..."

It wasn't so much the words that she registered but the Paige's painful grip and the huge smile that spread across her face as she jumped up.

"Oh my God, Piper, you're pregnant. You're gonna be a MOM. Leo's gonna flip." Paige was hugging her and Piper was grinning like an idiot.

She couldn't believe it.

The doctor stood by, a gentle smile on his face until they had calmed then handed Piper some pamphlets and instructed her to come back in a week or so to discuss things.

Piper felt like she was floating as they left the suite of offices and headed downstairs. She had to look down at her feet to make sure they were touching the floor.

"Do you have time for lunch, or do you have to get to work?" she asked as they stepped outside.

"I have all the time in the world, seeing as how sick I am." Paige added a cough for effect.

"Ah, playing a little hookey, are we, Missy Paige?" she teased.

"Yeah, well..." Paige shrugged.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know but..." Paige shrugged again.

"Well, thank you." Piper threw her arm around her younger sister's shoulders and guided them down the sidewalk. "And I think I know the perfect place to eat."

A few minutes later found them sitting in a little cafe on a side street a few blocks away from the doctor's office. It was still early for the lunch crowd so they were mostly alone as they sipped coffee and studied the menus. Only two other tables were occupied.

"This used to be favorite place of Mom and Grams," Piper said, glancing over her menu at Paige. "I only remember coming here a few times with Mom, but Grams used to bring us here on special occasions."

"Really?" Paige's eyes travelled the room with newfound interest.

"Yeah. Like Birthdays and special occasions. I think the promise of a meal here was the only thing that kept Pheobe from flunking out some years."

Paige offered a laugh and a wry smile. "My parents used to give me $5 for every A I got on my report card. If not for all the art classes I took, I would never have gotten a cent."

"Not much of a student?"

"Not if I wasn't interested," Paige said with a shrug. "And once I got to high school I wasn't much interested."

"Let me guess, you discovered boys."

"Nah, I discovered boys in junior high. Or rather," Paige said with a glance down at her chest. "I should say boys discovered me. Freshman year, I discovered booze."

Piper couldn't quite hide her surprise. Even Pheobe, with all her wild-child ways hadn't started drinking until junior year. It had taken Prue until her senior year and Piper had never really gotten a taste for it, though there were some embarrasing drunken moments from when she was in college.

"Then came sex, drugs and rock and roll."

Piper inhaled in surprise, almost choking on her coffee until she realized that Paige was grinning mischieviously at her. "You little brat," she managed to wheeze as Paige laughed.

The arrival of the waiter allowed Piper a chance to gain her composure. When he left, she shot her younger sister a glare, relenting only when Paige offered her a sip of her mocha in apology.

"I was mostly a weekend partier," Paige clarified, picking up where they'd left off. "Then at least. It wasn't until a few years later I started drinking regularly. Other than a few joints at parties, I never did drugs. I didn't sleep around either." She added the last bit defensively.

"I know Paige." Piper automatically reached out to touch her hand. The unexpected familiarity of the gesture apparent in the way Paige twitched slighly on contact. But she didn't pull away. "I never believed that you did. You just shocked me when you said it.".

She searched Paige's expression for understanding and assurance that she wasn't hurt. When Paige relaxed slightly in her chair so did Piper. "I was, I guess you'd say, a dork, in high school. Didn't drink. Didn't party. I studied. I got good grades and I stayed out of trouble. My one act of teenage rebellion came when I was 16. I snuck out of the house and went out with this college guy. He used to come into the restaurant I waitressed at and flirt with me all the time. When he asked me out, I thought I was going to die. Anyway, we ended up hanging out in the park all night, him and his friends getting drunk. I ended up walking home about 4 in the morning. And that," she said with a wry smile, "was my shining rebellious moment."

"Impressive," Paige said with a laugh. "Though that's not as bad as having to take a cab home from a lame date with a handsy upperclassman but not having enough money to pay and having the driver stop in front of a house around the corner then cutting through the back yard to get home."

Piper laughed, picturing the scene in her head.

This was the first time she and Paige'd had a conversation like this before. The first time they'd opened up to each other, shared pieces of themselves. Paige had been witness to a lot of personal stuff of both Piper and Pheobe but had not been on the inside, rather she had been on the outside looking in and that hadn't done anything to bring them closer together.

It also made her realize how much she didn't know about her younger sister. All the time living under the same roof and she knew Paige was an artist, had an eclectic taste in music and was passionate about her job at social services. Other than that, what did Piper know? Nothing of her childhood, her dreams, her goals. She didn't even know her favourite color, her favourite food. She didn't even know how Paige took her coffee.

This would be good for them, she knew. It would bring them closer together.

After Piper had asked Paige to go with her to the doctor Paige had been pleased that Piper wanted to spend some time with her. But a small voice in the back of her head couln't help but wonder if her olders sister simply hadn't wanted to ask Pheobe out of sensitivity for what she had gone through with Cole, her baby and the Seer.

It's not like Piper had made any other overtures that Paige could hold up as an example to show that they were in fact connecting. But Paige was an optimist by nature and though life had knocked her around some, making her a bit more careful and wary she was willing to give the benefit of the doubt. So she had entered into their outing with cautious hope, determined to see where it went.

And it had gone well, it was going well, but the lunch that Paige had thought was such a good idea was proving to be a bad one, for as they sat eating and exchanging stories and Paige listened to tales things Prue, Piper and Pheobe had done she was only reminded of how much she didn't belong.

It was okay, she tried to reassure herself. A lot of siblings aren't close. At least she got to know the story of her biological parents and meet her family. And it wasn't like they'd never see each other again. Surely they'd stay in touch.

You know the drill.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Thanks for reading, and reviewing. It makes the writing easier knowing that people are enjoying the story.

This chapter is a break from the sisterly bonding/angst but I hope that it'll still be enjoyable. I certainly had fun writing it. I just love Piper and Leo. They're such a cute couple.

**Chapter 5**

Leo was in the living room watching tv and talking with Pheobe, who was working at her laptop, when they got home. Both looked up but didn't say anything as the two of them stepped inside. Leo stood but remained by the couch, remote dangling from his hand. An electric expectancy filled the air.

Paige stepped around Piper and grabbed Pheobe by the wrist, pulling her up. "C'mon Pheebs, let's give them a minute."

She pulled her older sister reluctantly out of the room as Piper closed the distance between herself and her husband.

"Hey," he said softly, placing his hands at her waist. "How'd it go at the doctors?" His eyes met hers, full of love and sympathy. His voice layered with caring and compassion. Neither held any traces of resentment or recrimination even though it was because of her that they couldn't

have children. Even though he wanted them. Even though he was dissapointed he had never once made her feel bad. Instead he was a pillar of understanding and support, pushing aside his own feelings to help her deal with her own.

Just looking at him she felt her heart swell with love. All it took was for him to stand there and she was overtaken by emotion.

A smile pulled at the corners of her lips, just the faintest of twitches and he swept her up in his arms, letting out a whoop of joy and a laugh as he spun her around. They were both laughing by the time he put her down and his smile lit up his entire face. He cupped her head, thumbs stroking the nape of her neck as he leaned down to kiss her.

"I can't believe it," she whispered when they pulled apart. He gently wiped the moisture from her cheeks even as the tears coursed unchecked down his own. "We're going to have a child. We're going to be parents."

He smiled tenderly down at her.

The moment was broken as Pheobe sprinted into the room and launched herself at the two of them, sending both of them stumbling backwards with the force of her hug.

"I held her back as long as I could," Paige, who had followed at a more stately pace, said with an apologetic shrug.

"It's okay, Paige," Leo assured her, still grinning widely.

"We're used to the fact that there is no such thing as private moment in this house," Piper added, giving Pheobe glare and a push then pulling her close in tight hug.

"Congratulations, Leo," Paige awkwardly embraced her brother-in-law.

When they pulled apart Pheobe stepped into his arms, offering her own congratulations. "This calls for a celebration," she said as she stepped back. "Something really special. Dinner in Paris or-"

"Maybe we should let Piper and Leo have their own celebration," Paige cut in. "Why don't we..go shopping for baby gifts. We can be the first to buy them something."

"That's a great idea Paige," Piper agreed, nodding emphatically.

Pheobe agreed easily enough as well. After another round of hugs Leo draped his arm around Piper's shoulder and the two of them orbed out.

"This is so amazing," Pheobe said, turning to Paige. "They've wanted this for so long. And if anyone deserves to be parents-"

"It's Piper and Leo," Paige agreed.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This next chapter is some more of what I love best about Charmed, the sisters and their relationships.

It sort of goes with what **lizardmomma **commented about Ch.4 and how they bonded over the demon hunting and now with that gone it'll be more difficult for them.

**o-charmed-freak-0- **This is going to be a short story, probably no more than 10 chapters (maybe a few more if I get inspired) I hope to write a more about Piper & Leo but my main focus is going to be the sisters.

**AFW, XForeverCharmed3, JewWitch, writerchic16, piperloveleoalways, gemini85, Charmed225, Eramay Delichia Green Dragon, **thank you for reading and commenting. I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story. 

Chapter 6

Pheobe woke with a jolt from the nightmare, barely managing to bite back the scream that welled up in her throat. This was the second nightmare this week. Which was an improvement because a few weeks ago she'd woken up every night by her dreams. She'd started having them after they'd vanquished The Source and the Seer. They'd been so vivid that she'd remembered them all day, the images burned into her brain making it almost impossible not to have one again the next night. Slowly they were becoming less vivid and by morning she remembered little more than the impression of darkness and pain, leaving her with a vague feeling of unease that faded as the day wore on.

Just because they weren't as horrible didn't mean that she was in any hurry to go back to bed. Instead, Pheobe pulled on a sweater over her p.j's and headed downstairs for a cup of hot cocoa. She made her way carefully across the hall and down the stairs, avoiding the creaky boards and stairs so as not to wake up her sisters or Leo, without even needing to turn on a light. She had lived almost her entire life in this house and could easily make her way by the grey light from the streetlights that filtered through the windows.

When she reached the kitchen she paused in the doorway, surprised to find Paige sitting at the table in near darkness, the only illumination coming from the bulb above the stove. She had one knee drawn up with her chin resting on it as she stared out at the moonless sky. One hand rested loosely around a mug on the table. She didn't appear to have heard Pheobe enter.

"Sweetie, are you all right?" she asked gently. Paige turned her head slowly, her eyes becoming focused as she came back from wherever she'd been. "You all right?" she repeated, sliding into the seat adjacent to Paige's.

"Yeah, fine. Just couldn't sleep. What are you doing up?"

"Another nightmare."

"Aww, I'm sorry," Paige said sympathetically, reaching out and giving her arm a squeeze.

"They're not as bad as they were," Pheobe said, for her own sake as much as Paige's.

"Do you want me to mix you up a potion, something to help you sleep?" Paige asked, without thinking. She frowned momentarily as she remembered then she shrugged and pulled a face, trying to wave off her mistake but the lighthearted action seemed forced to Pheobe. "How about some good old fashioned hot cocoa?" she asked, standing before Pheobe had time to answer.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, glancing back over her shoulder.

"Not really. I'd rather just forget about it. So, what's keeping you up?" Pheobe asked as Paige busied herself making cocoa.

"Just thinking," Paige replied, without really answering the question.

She accepted the steaming mug greatfully, cradling it in her hands for a moment and letting it's heat warm her. "Do you want to talk about whatever's bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me," Paige said breezily, dropping down into her chair.

"Then why are you up at 3:40 in the morning?"

Paige shrugged.

"Come on, tell me what's going on in that pretty head of yours."

Paige continued to stare down into her mug and Pheobe felt a faint hurt that she didn't want to confide in her. Unlike Piper, who'd seen Paige being their sister as another source of possible pain and loss Pheobe had been excited by the prospect. She believed that Paige's entrance into their lives at that moment was a sign they should continue to love and hope.

It had been easier for her to connect with their younger sister, to welcome her into the family. They had been getting to know each other and then everything with Cole had happened and now there was this chasm between them that Pheobe didn't know how to bridge.

She'd apologized and Paige had accepted but things were not what they had been between them. Earlier that day as they'd shopped for baby gifts was the first time in weeks the two of them had just hung out and it had been awkward and strained. Neither had been quite sure what to say to the other. Now, Paige was shutting her out.

She reached out and laid a hand on Paige's arm. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

For a moment, Paige was silent and still then she looked up and locked eyes with Pheobe. Quietly she asked, "will you still want me now that we're not magical?"

Pheobe's breath caught in her throat as she stared, dumbfounded, at her younger sister. Suddenly many things came sliding into place. Paige fighting so hard for them to keep their magic and her moddiness of the last two days.

"Of course we will," she managed to get around the lump in her throat. "You mean more to this family than your place as a Charmed One."

Paige looked back at her skeptically.

"I know things haven't been the greatest around here lately," Pheobe said after taking a deep breath and steadying herself. ""But it doesn't have to be that way. I don't want it to be that way. That's part of why this no magic thing is so great. Because, while magic can be beautiful it can also be very destructive. Magic killed Mom. It killed Prue. It's why I never had a relationship with my father." Pheobe clasped Paige's hands in her own, squeezing them gently. Paige was looking steadily down at the table but Pheobe could see tears gathering beneath her lashes. Pheobe's own eyes were feeling a little moist as well as she struggled to find the words to explain what she was feeling, what she was thinking.

"It's the reason you weren't allowed to grow up with us. It's why even though we're sisters we barely know each other. And I hate that it's like that. I'd really like to get to know you, Paige, my little sister not the witch."

Paige glanced up hesitantly, tears coursing down her cheeks. Instinctively Pheobe reached up and wiped them away. It broke her heart to see the pain and uncertainty in her younger sisters eyes.

Had it always been there, and she'd just missed it because she was too caught up in her own troubles?

"How long have you been carrying this around?" Pheobe asked.

Paige's gaze went downward.

"Before we gave up our powers?" she enquired. Without meeting her eye, Paige nodded.

"I guess I've always kind of wonderded, if not for magic and our shared destiny, would you and Piper want me around?"

"I'm sorry," Pheobe said earnestly. "Neither of us ever meant to make you feel unwanted." She had known Paige had some trouble getting used to being a witch, learning the magic and accepting the toll it would take on her life but she hadn't realized just how unconnected she felt to Piper and herself. "Us finding each other was a wonderful thing," she said, clasping Paige's hand in her own and squeezing it tightly. "It's just, the timing of it...well it sucked. Piper and I were grieving. You got thrust into this new role of sister and witch. Then there was The Source to deal with. It was all just too much and the good, you finding your family and us gaining a sister was overshadowed by all the bad." She glanced at Paige expectantly, hoping she understood.

Her younger sister nodded as she wiped at the tears in her eyes with her free hand. There was a few moments of silence as Paige apparently processed what Pheobe had said. "Thanks, Pheobe," she said softly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks at her older sisters unwavering attention. "I'm sorry for getting so weepy."

"Don't be," Pheobe said sincerely. "You don't have to be so independant all the time. Piper and I are here for you to lean on."

Paige smiled faintly and it lit up her eyes.

"So, I think I'm going to try and go back to sleep. You?"

"I'll be up in a few minutes."

Pheobe stood and moved to the counter to put her cup away, then turned to exit the kitchen, brushing a kiss against the top of Paige's head as she did. "Night, sweetie. I love you," she added guiltily, realizing that she'd never told Paige that before. It was a terrible mistake on her part, for Pheobe knew what it was like to feel unloved by family and she should have made a point of letting Paige know that she was loved before it got to this point, where she was doubting herself.

"I love you too," Paige said softly, almost shyly. "Night Pheobs."

Thanks for reading.

You know what to do now.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:I've been immersing myself in the show lately (a very wordy way of saying I've been spending a lot of time watching the dvd's while I wait for the 8th season to come out) and I'm trying to stay as true to the characters and capture as much of them as I can in these stories.**

**Thanks for your continued appreciation and support. I hope you're having as much fun reading this as I am writing it.**

AFW-thanks. :)

KFordy- I love writing the sister moments. They're so much fun.

Lizardmomma: Yep, Piper needs to clue in. I originally had the previous scene set between Piper and Paige but it just didn't feel right. I don't think they're ready for that yet.

missypaige06: So far Paige has been the easiest of the sisters to write and she's turning into my favourite.

Nancy T. -I guess I was using angst and drama interchangably because while I was going for dramatic I wasn't aiming for "life-is-horrible-and-there's-nothing-to-be-done-about-it-poor-me." So, I take back my previous comment about angst and replace it with the word drama.

Every writer likes to know that they're stories aren't annoying or tedious, so thanks. It's something I'm working really hard to avoid on this one and I'm glad to know I'm succeeding.

**Chapter 7**

For the second time in one night, Pheobe woke abruptly, one moment sleeping peacefully and the next sitting up in bed disoriented but definately awake. Only this time it wasn't because of a nightmare. She wasn't sure what exactly woke her up. Glancing at her clock she saw that she still had another ten minutes before her alarm went off yet she was filled with a sense of urgency telling her she needed to get to work. Perhaps she had forgotten about a meeting or a deadline? Pheobe flipped through the calender on her dresser and saw no entries but got out of bed and started getting ready anyways. She had learned to trust her instincts.

No more magic had made their lives less dangerous but it had done nothing to make them less hectic. Leo had been called out of bed at the crack of dawn by one of his charges. Then just as Piper was falling back into sleep she'd been re-woken up by a phone call from a friend of hers, a man who ran a small catering buisness that she used to work with asking for a favor. He was supposed to be catering a luncheon but his fridge had broken overnight, spoiling the food and he was wondering if she could help out an prepare a few things for him. Which was how she found herself in the kitchen at 8 a.m preparing appetizers for 45 people in four hours.

"Morning Pheobs." She glanced up as her sister swept into the room, briefcase tucked under her arm and mumbling to herself.

"Hi, Piper." Pheobe barely glanced up as she circled the kitchen, picking up her jacket, some papers and pouring coffee into a travel mug before stopping in the middle of the room. "Keys...where are...ah, keys." She grabbed them up off the table.

"What's up?"

"I'm late for work."

"For what, I thought you wre working at home today?"

"That was the plan. But I just can't shake the feeling that there's something going on at the office and I'm going to be late for it."

She glanced around the kitchen one last time, checking that she had everything and headed for the door, nearly bumping into Paige on her way out. "Sorry. Bye guys," she called over her shoulder. "Love you."

"You too," Piper and Paige echoed.

"What's with her?" Paige asked, continuing through the doorway and into the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder as the front door swung shut.

"Apparently she's late for something at work. But she can't remember what."

"O-kay," Paige leaned against the counter and surveyed Piper's mess. "What's up with all this?"

Piper explained about her friend and his luncheon.

"Are you sure you should be doing all this?" Paige asked. "With the baby and all. Maybe you should-"

"Uh-uh. Oh no." Piper interrupted, pointing at Paige. "Don't you start. I'm pregnant, not invalid. And it's going to be a long nine months if you-"

"Okay, point taken." Paige held her hands up in surrender.

"Thank you. Want some breakfast?"

"Like you don't have enough going on? No, coffee's fine." Paige went around the counter and poured herself a cup then returned to her place as Piper bustled about the stove.

"Hey, are you doing anything tonight?" Piper asked.

Paige shook her head. "No. Between work and demon hunting I've pretty much killed my social life."

"Good. Well, not good that you have no social life. I meant, good you don't have plans. I was thinking that we should do something, me, you and Pheobe. Have a girls night. I could cook dinner and we could go to a movie or something."

"That sounds great," Paige said, pleased by the idea. She'd been thinking about what Pheobe had said last night and had decided to give their new situation a chance. She had to admit, she was feeling hopeful. It had felt really nice to have Pheobe tell her that she loved her. Had felt nice to say it.

And she had noticed a change in Piper's behaviour towards her. This was the second time in two days she'd initiated spending time together that didn't involve magic or demons.

"Okay then," Piper said with a nod. She was glad that Paige had agreed so readily and didn't seem to be pulling back anymore. If she was still mad about being outvoted by her older sisters on the magic issue she wasn't letting it show.

"Paige?" she said after a moment of silence. "Thanks for coming with me yesterday."

"You're welcome," Paige said with a slight shrug.

"It really meant a lot to me to have someone with me. To have you with me." She set aside the knife she was chopping with and reached out to take Paige's hand in her own. "Even though I gave you no reason to, you were there for me. I know that I haven't been the most welcoming."

Paige didn't want to nod, or agree even though it was true because as painful as Piper's behaviour towards her had been, she understood it. She'd been through it herself. When her parents had died she had lashed out at everyone closest to her because her pain was so great and she didn't know how to cope with it. So she couldn't very well fault Piper for how she was acting and was what made it so hard to deal with. It would have been easier if she'd been able to write Piper off as a bitch. But she couldn't, because she'd caught glimpses of the woman beneath the pain and knew that Piper was a caring, generous . So Paige just had to wait for her to be that person again and hope that then they could finally have a chance of being close.

"I just want to say I'm sorry for how I've treated you."

There was a loud clatter as the lid from one of the pots on the stove fell to the floor as the contents of the pot bubbled over, just as the kettle started to boil. "Dammit." Piper grabbed an oven mit and grabbed the pot off the stove.

Paige finished the last sip of coffee and set her cup in the sink. "I've got to go," she said a bit reluctantly.

"We'll talk later," Piper promised.

"Tonight," Paige agreed, feeling a bounce in her step, bouyed by Piper's simple, yet heartfelt apology. "Bye." She gave Piper a one armed hug as she grabbed her keys and headed out the back door.

You know what to do.

Reviewsmore chapters.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:**I'm glad you enjoyed the sisterly moment. There's more to come in this next chapter, though with a slightly different tone.

Thanks for reading, and commenting. Knowing that the story is appreciated makes the writing of it so much easier and more fun.

Chapter 8

"Honey, I'm home," Pheobe called out as she entered the manor.

"In the kitchen," Piper called back, amidst the sound of chopping.

"Again? Or should I say still?" Pheobe asked, remembering that Piper had been in the kitchen when she left that morning as well.

"Again. How was your day? Did you make it to your..whatever on time?"

"Get this," Pheobe said, grabbing a can of soda from the fridge and dropping into one of the kitchen chairs. "I go to the office just after 9, thinking I was totally late and Elise was going to yell at me. Only, I went to the conference room and it was empty. Same with Elise's office. I checked my day planner at the office, nothing was scheduled."

"So false alarm? Weird. But good."

Pheobe nodded absently. "So, since I was there anyway I started backing up some of my files, switching them over to the new server. It was something I'd been putting off, it's such a hassle. And it was a good thing I did too because not ten minutes after I'd finished one of the guys from the construction crew downstairs cut a line, knocked out the old server. Half the office lost their stuff. I would have too if I hadn't just finished backing everything up."

"Lucky."

"I'll say," Pheobe agreed. "So, what are you making?"

"Dinner. I thought we could have a girls night."

"Tonight?" Pheobe asked. "Backing up all my files took most of the morning, I've got a ton of work to catch up on."

"C'mon Pheobs. We haven't had a girls night in...I can't ever remember the last time-"

"I've got double the column space in the next addition which means twice as-"

"That's how long it's been. We certainly haven't had one since Paige moved in. She's already agreed, by the way."

That quieted Pheobe for a moment. At the mention of their younger sisters name the memory of last nights conversation came rushing back. She'd meant to talk to Piper about it but had been in such a rush to get out the door this morning it had slipped her mind.

"Speaking of Paige..." she began, then cut herself off as the front door swung open.

"Anybodye home?"

"In the kitchen," Piper called. Then glanced over at Pheobe, eyebrow raised. "What?"

"Nothing. Never mind." She could hear Paige's footsteps approaching and knew that it wouldn't help matters any if Paige walked in and the two of them clammed up. It would just make her younger sister feel more out of place.

Piper shot her a look then shrugged. "So, what do you say Pheobs, you in?"

"Hello, sisters," Paige said, heading directly towards the coffee pot. "Are you still cooking?" she asked, sniffing at the stove.

"No. I'm cooking _again_. I have actually left the kitchen today. Several times in fact," Piper said with exasperation.

Paige shrugged and shot Pheobe an amused grin. "So, how'd the luncheon go?" she asked, giving Piper a playful bump with her shoulder before taking a seat at the kitchen table beside Pheobe, the two of them listening as she told them about the event.

"..I'm trying to convince Pheobe to join us tonight for out girls night but she says she has to work," Piper said once she had finished.

"Aw, Pheobs, you can't bail on us," Paige said, turning wide, pleading eyes on her. Looking at her, Pheobe knew that her parents must have had a hell of a time saying no to her when she was a kid. She glanced over at Piper, who was giving her a similar wide eyed look. No help there.

"Fine. I'll join you," she said, throwing up her hands. Piper grinned and Paige mock-cheered, making all three of them laugh.

As Piper put the finishing touches on dinner Pheobe and Paige set the table, the three of them chatting about their days. Paige told them about the cases she was handling, Piper had a few stories from her luncheon and Pheobe told Paige about her morning and the close call she had with the servers.

There had been few opportunities over the past year for the three of them to spend time together under such a relaxed setting. For the first time there was no crisis, magical or otherwise, no dire situation looming over them and it felt nice. It wasn't just the lack of magical interference though. Something else was different. Maybe it was the bottle of wine they'd finished between them, or maybe it was Piper's cooking, which had become a rare treat lately but Pheobe couldn't shake the feeling.

It wasn't until they had finished eating and she watched Piper start to collect up the dishes into the kitchen and Paige jump up to help her that she realized what it was, the difference was in Piper and Paige. There was a connection there that hadn't been there before. She should have noticed it the minute Paige walked into the kitchen and the two of them started bantering but she hadn't. She had thought she would need to talk to Piper about her conversation with Paige last night and push the two of them together a little bit but it looked like that might not be necessary.

"Hey, Pheobs, Piper and I can clean up if you want to get some work done before we start the movie," Paige suggested as Pheobe rose and began stacking dishes as well.

Pheobe was tempted, but didn't want to leave the two of them with all the chores.

"Go on Pheobe," Piper said with a shooing motion. "We'll call you when we're ready."

"You're sure?" she asked. "Because I..."

"Yes, we're sure."

"I'm not going to hear about this later, how I always stick you with all the chores?"

"Course you are," Paige said with a grin.

Pheobe rolled her eyes at Paige but pushed in her chair and grabbed her computer bag from end table in the corner. "Thanks guys, you're the best," she said, giving them both a kiss on the head before heading upstairs.

Now that the two of them were alone, Piper suddenly felt nervous. Dinner had gone so well. She and Paige had gotten along well, she had felt the shift towards closeness but they were far from being okay and a part of her worried that they might never get there. What if her behaviour those first few months had damaged their relationship beyond repair?

Being sisters didn't automatically mean they would get along. She, Prue and Pheobe had grown up together and they hadn't always been this close. Prue and Pheobe had gone years without even speaking.

She glanced over at Paige, who was piling dishes into the sink and wondered what was going through her head right now? Wondered if there would ever be a time when she'd know just by looking at her what she was feeling. The way she could with Pheobe. The way she had been able to with Prue.

She glanced over again, caught Paige peeking back at her. It was time for them to talk. Taking a deep breath she braced herself against the counter and turned to face her little sister.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I know, cliffhanger endings aren't a very nice thing to do but I was having some trouble with this scene so I decided to cut it into two chapters. I wanted the exchange between Piper and Paige to be dramatic but not melodramatic and wasn't sure quite how to do it. I hope that you like the decision that I made.

**Chapter 9**

Paige had noticed Piper shooting her furtive glances as they gathered the dishes and carried them into the kitchen, obviously working up to breaking the companionable silence that had fallen between them.

Now, as they stood in the kitchen starting to wash up Piper let out a soft sigh and turned towards her. Paige let the dishes fall with a gentle clatter to the bottom of the sink and turned as well, leaning against the counter as she faced Piper. For a moment the two of them just stood there, staring at each other, neither of them saying anything.

Paige could see the guilt and sorrow in Piper's eyes and felt the burning of tears. She hated seeing Piper like this. It had never been her intention to make her, or Pheobe, feel bad. She just wanted to feel like she belonged. She wanted them to look at her and see her, their sister, not the the third Charmed One, not Prue's replacement or anything else, just Paige Mathews, their sister.

Piper had already apologized. There was no need to draw this out. Both women knew what had happened, both knew why. Paige didn't need to re-hash everything. She wasn't keeping track of slights. If Piper was ready to accept her than she was willing to let that be enough.

Piper stared across the distance between them, less then three feet but feeling like so much more. For the first time since they had met, Piper recognized how vulnerable Paige was. Everything that had happened to her, being put up for adoption, her parents death, finding her biological family only to be brushed aside by one of her sisters and still she hadn't given up on love or the idea of family. She always seemed so strong, so vibrant but standing there, leaning against the counter eyes shining with moisture and emotion Piper realized how much Paige put herself out there and how much it cost her when she did.

"Paige, I..." Piper began, then trailed off.

"Piper," Paige cut her off. A moment of silence fell.

Paige took a cautious step forward and found herself wrapped in her older sister's arms. She closed her eyes and buried her face in Piper's neck. Strands of pear shampoo scented hair tickled her nose but she barely noticed.

"I'm sorry," Piper said, her voice muffled in Paige's shoulder. "I love you."

She'd fought it for a long time. Had feared that letting Paige in would be betraying Prue somehow but slowly Paige had worked her way into Piper's heart, almost without Piper realizing it. Then they had given up their magic and the thing that bound them together was gone. She became suddenly aware that it was possible they could lose Paige and it scared her. It was then she realized that she loved her little sister.

She loved her and had been too stubborn to admit it, not only to herself but to Paige as well.

The tears that had been building spilled over and Paige let them fall, unwilling to let go and wipe them away. "I love you too," she whispered, and

Piper's arms tightened around her, holding her closer, clinging more firmly.

Both were wiping their eyes when they pulled apart.

"Well," Paige said with a wry smile "I'm glad we had this little talk."

Piper offered a weak smile and a watery laugh. "Yeah. Me too."

"So, about these dishes..." Paige gestured toward the small pile of dishes on the counter, obviously a little uncomfortable in the aftermath of their emotional moment. Piper had noticed that she tended to avoid being openly emotional and often used humour to deflect when things got a little tense but had never been sure if that was her natural instinct or if she wasn't comfortable enough with herself and Phoebe to be emotional, to be vulnerable. It was something she was curious to discover. One of many things, really, that she couldn't wait to learn about her little sister.

"Could you get me a sponge?" Paige asked. Piper nodded and turned towards the drawer where they were stored, her elbow bumping the pots and pans that had been piled a little too close to the edge. As they started to fall, her hands came up instinctively and she could swear that, for a single moment they hung suspended on air before tumbling to the ground with a clatter.

For a moment Piper stood, staring at them in shock. She glanced over at Paige, who turned at the noise and was now drying of her hands to come help Piper pick them up. She didn't appear to have noticed what had just happened.

Execpt, it couldn't have happened. They didn't have their powers anymore.

She must have just imagined it. Shaking her head began to help Paige pick up the fallen posts and pans.

The rest of the clean up was completed without incident and when it was done they made some popcorn and called Pheobe down. Together the three of them settled in the living room, Piper on the couch, Paige in an armchair and Pheobe sprawled out on the floor, for a much needed evening of bonding and relaxation.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Did Piper freeze the pots? Was it just her imagination? You'll find out soon. Not this chapter, but soon. I'm building up to my ending and that's part of it.

Thanks for reading and your continued comments. I really appreciate it.

"Here's that green sweater back that I borrowed," Pheobe said, holding the item in question aloft as she stepped into Piper's room. "Though, since you're going on a romantic weekend with your husband I'm not really sure why you're packing _sweaters._ Shouldn't you be packing something a little more romantic? Something enticing. Something sexy. Something-"

"Just give me that." Piper grabbed the sweater from Pheobe's hand and tossed it into the suitcase that lay open on her bed.

"Seriously Piper, I hope that you've got more than sweaters and jeans in there." Pheobe pushed aside the top layers of clothing looking for some sign of lingere. "Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean that you and Leo can't..._you know._"

"Get out of there," Piper slapped her hands away and pulled the suitcase flap shut. "Yes, I know."

Pheobe flopped onto the bed, almost bouncing the suitcase off it. "So, speaking of how's my little neice doing?" She reached out and laid a hand on Piper's still flat belly.

"Fine," Piper replied, resisting the urge to once again bat her hands away. Instead she let Pheobe coo at her stomach for a moment before it got just a little bit creepy and she stepped back.

"And what about Mommy, how's she doing?"

"Mommy's doing good. Mommy is excited about getting an entire weekend without any magical interruptions."

Piper's smile at the prospect of the idea lit up her face. It had been a long time since either of them had gotten the chance to do anything without the threat of demons breaking into their plans looming over them. They hadn't even gotten a proper honeymoon.

"And many more weekends to come," Pheobe added. It was a good thing, but a bittersweet accomplishment. They'd devoted four years of their lives to saving the city and protecting innocents. Now that chapter of their life was over and they were free to resume the lives they'd put on hold. But they had to do it without Prue, who had taken such pride in being a witch. And for Pheobe, being a witch was very much tied into her sense of identity. It was finding out about her birthright that had given her something to focus on, a direction. Now she had to figure out who she was outside of being a witch.

"That didn't sound very enthused," Piper said, studying her. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

Pheobe lay back and stared up at the ceiling, trying to sort out her thoughts. "It's not that I'm not excited about being free to live my life because I am. It's just, sometimes I wonder how we're supposed to go from being The Charmed One's and having this mission to living our lives like none of it ever happened." She rolled onto her stomach and turned her gaze up to meet Piper's. "The evil is still out there, even if we gave up our powers and don't have to deal with it on a daily basis."

"I know, Pheobs." Piper sat beside her on the bed and laid a hand on her shoulder. "And maybe it was wrong of us to say it wasn't our problem anymore but we couldn't keep on going the way we were." She pushed a strand of stray hair back behind her sisters ear.

"Yeah." Pheobe fell silent.

They sat in silence for awhile, both of them lost in thought.

"Well, talk about a mood killer," Pheobe said, her voice sounding loud and overly cheery even to her own ears. "Let's go back to talking about your lack of sexy lingere."

"I have plenty of sexy lingere," Piper protested, which was not quite a lie. She had one set of lingere, which had served her well until now.

Pheobe scoffed and Piper grabbed a pillow from the bed and hit her with it.

"Ow," Pheobe protested. But she was laughing. "Where are you and Leo going this weekend?"

"Colorado. He rented us a cabin in the mountains." Her eyes took on a faraway look as she contemplated sharing the sunrise, the wide open, rugged landscape, a starry night sky and a roaring fire.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Paige's voice broke into her reverie. Both of them looked up to see their younger sister hovering just inside the doorway of Piper's room. Still hesitant to just barge in the way Pheobe had but confident enough to cross the threshold.

"We're just talking about Piper and Leo's romantic getaway," Pheobe said. "And her lack of appropriate attire."

"Ah, what's the big deal with all that? It's just going to end up on the floor anyway," Paige said with a sly grin.

Piper felt her face heat up in a faint blush as Pheobe let out a laugh.

Paige crossed the room and perched on the edge of Piper's bed, asserting her place even as she was careful not to take up too much space, unlike Pheobe who was sprawled out.

Things had been better in the three days since they had told Paige they loved her but there was still some distance to make up before she felt as comfortable around them as they felt with each other. What made it easier was the knowledge that one day she would feel that level of comfort and trust. She knew that she was loved and wanted.

"So, what are you guys doing this weekend?"

"Well, I'm sure if you think about it you can figure that out," Pheobe teased.

Paige rolled her eyes and slapped at her playfully.

"Enough you two. I'm going now. Leo," Piper called as she zipped up her suitcase.

A moment later he materialized in a flash of blue lights.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Ready to go." She nodded affirmation.

He crossed the room to her and laid an arm across her shoulders.

"Have fun." Pheobe grinned.

Husband and wife dissapeared in a flash.

Please feed the feedback monkey.

( (O) (O) )


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Thanks for reading, and commenting. It's always appreciated and makes each chapter that much easier to write.

Laby Anne Boleyn,. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.

-0-charmed-freak-0- sisterly bonding and piper and leo in it doesnt get much better than that" I agree. Those are my two favourite things about the show so I try to put as much of it as I can in the story.

charmedchick34, Thanks for reading.

missypaige06,.The banter is so much fun to write. On the show it seemed to me like they went from awkwardness in the fourth season to being close in the fifth and I was a little dissapointed they didn't explore that more, so I'm trying to do that hear slowly building their relationships.

piperleoforever21, thanks. :)

lizardmomma, that's true. I hope Leo and Piper can take full advantage of their time away.

LucyCelticPrincess, the sister moments have always been my favourite part of the show so I'm just taking this chance to do as many of them as I can. I'm not sure what, exactly, you think is going to happen but I hope that I do manage to surprise you a little with my ending.

**Chapter 11.**

Piper and Leo dissapeared in a flash of blue light, leaving Pheobe and Paige staring into the space they'd been standing.

"I hope they have a good time," Pheobe said. "They deserve it. So, uh, I guess I'll be in my room."

"Is everything okay?" Paige asked, stepping into her path, halting her exit. 1

"Rough day at work," Pheobe said with a shrug. She'd received a couple of letters today asking for advice on some pretty intense problems and had been struggling all day with answering them. Add that to how mixed up she'd been feeling since they gave up their powers and she was starting to feel drained.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." She moved to step around her.

"Oh, okay." Paige shrugged and stepped out her way. The hurt evident in her voice even though she was trying not to let it show and Pheobe immediately felt guilty. It was moments like this that had probably led Paige to believe that she wasn't really part of the family.

How many opportunities to let Paige in had she missed?

"At least, not right now," Pheobe added as she reached the doorway and turned around. "I need some time, you know? Maybe over dinner? We could order in, talk, hang out."

Paige's smile lit up her face. "Okay. Sounds good. I think I'm going to do some painting. Come get me when you're ready?"

Pheobe nodded and headed down the hall to her room.

One moment they were standing in her bedroom with her sisters and the next they were alone in a remote cabin in the Colorado wilderness. It was something Piper didn't think she would ever quite get used to. Not that she didn't appreciate it, because she did. It was just a little difficult to wrap her head around.

She gave Leo a squeeze then moved away from him to explore their weekend getaway. It was open concept, the living room melding into the kitchen with only a low wall separating the two rooms. There was a staircase in one corner leading up to bedroom, which was little more than a platform with walls on two sides. An archway and small hallway beyond the kitchen presumebly lead to the bathroom. The large, airy space was made more so by the nearly floor to ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the woods around him and the peaks of the mountains in the distance.

"What do you think?" Leo asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Good for a romantic weekend?"

She turned in his arms and looped her arms around his neck, stretching up on tiptoe to give him a kiss. "It's perfect," she said, resting her head against his shoulder.

He pulled her close and they stayed like that for a long moment before he pulled back, his arms still loosely around her. "You hungry? How about we take dinner out onto the porch and watch the sun set?"

She let him guide her by the hand into the kitchen, where upon opening the fridge revealed a platter of meats and cheeses, a bowl of various breads and a fruit salad. A bottle of apple cider sat in a small bucket full of ice and two glasses sat on the counter. Piper was impressed. And touched. She knew that he hadn't just gone to to store and picked up a couple of platters, he had bought the meats and cheeses and breads and fruits and prepared them himself, cutting and dicing. Even though it was a simple meal it had taken a lot of effort and Piper thought it was one of the sweetest things Leo had ever done for her.

"It looks delicious," she said, helping him carry the food outside to the porch where they settled in the wooden deck chairs.

Leo produced a blanket and draped it across their laps then poured Piper a glass of cider. "A toast," he said with a broad grin. "To us. And to having a weekend uninterrupted by magic."

"Hear, hear," she clinked her glass against his.

They ate dinner, Leo feeding her pieces of meat and cheese, sending bread and cracker crumbs tumbling all over the blanket between them. Once they had finished their meal they settled into a companionable silence cozied up under their blanket watching as the sun bathed the landscape in gold as it went down and then the rising dusk covered everything in a muted grey, blurring the edges of the mountains in the distance and enveloping them in their own world.

"You know, this is the problem with having a chef for a sister," Pheobe commented as she picked at her plate of take-out Chinese food. "Nothing else tastes as good in comparison."

Paige glanced up from her plate and considered a moment before nodding empathically. "You know, you're right. This used to be one of my favourite restaurants." She gestured to the boxes strewn on the coffee table in front of them. "But now their food is almost bland."

"It's sort of annoying, isn't it? When I was living in New York, I'd go out to all these five star restaurants, places that got rave reviews in the papers and everybody talked about and to me it was like, meh, Piper could make it better."

"I know exactly what you mean. Well, except for the New York part. And the five star restaurant part. But other than that." Paige grinned wryly and Pheobe couldn't help but grin back. "How long did you live in New York?" Paige asked. She knew that Pheobe had lived there because she had mentioned it once or twice before but didn't know anything about what her life had been like at that time, when had she moved there, what she done while she was there.

"A couple years. I moved just after Grams died and came back four years ago, just before we got our powers."

"I can't picture you living out there. Not that I don't think you could be a New Yorker but I can't picture you being so far away."

"Things were different. I was different. I was pretty messed up back then."

"Well, yeah, you'd just lost your grandmother."

"It wasn't that. At least, it wasn't just that. I was upset when she died but there was more going on. I'd dropped out of college and was in trouble all the time, drinking, partying...shoplifting. Grams had about given up on me, and I could tell. Prue and I were fighting all the time. Then, Grams died and Prue and I got into this horrific fight. I was hurt and angry so I took off."

"You just up and moved?"

Pheobe nodded. "Yep, I packed a bag, booked a flight and found myself in New York."

"Must have been some fight."

For a moment Pheobe was back in that moment, standing toe to toe in the living room with Prue who was berating her for all manner of things, from her lack of direction to her inability to do anything right finally ending with the accusation that she had slept with her fiance, Roger. All Pheobe had wanted to do was break down and cry it hurt so much having her big sister look at her like she was nothing. But, she was too proud and too angry to cry. Instead, she'd purposefully broken a crystal vase that had been their mothers and yelled right back.

She hadn't stepped foot in the manor again until the night they received their powers and she and Prue had never spoken of that fight again. Some off the old issues had resurfaced now and again but time and their need to remain together because they were Charmed had tempered their emotions.

She knew that before she had died Prue had been proud of her and all that she'd accomplished but it still hurt to remember the times when she thought of Pheobe as her screw up little sister.

"What was it about?"

"The same stuff it was always about back then. She thought I was a screwed up loser. I thought she was an anal retentive pain in the ass."

Paige was shocked. She'd thought that her sisters had always been so close. That was part of why belonging to this family was sometimes so intimidating. They seemed to have this unbreakable bond that connected them and she felt like she was playing catch up trying to get close to them. In an odd way, she felt comforted by this revelation.

"But it was when she accused me of coming onto her fiance, this jerk Roger, that I lost it. It was one thing for her to think I wasn't motivated but another thing entirely to think I would do something like that to her." Pheobe leaned back against the couch, lost in though. This wasn't quite the conversation Pheobe had envisioned when she told Paige they'd talk at dinner, she figured they'd talk about work and guys and relationships and fashion but this was the conversation they were having now and it felt like the right time to have it. With all that had been going on with Paige lately, this was something she probably needed to hear. And Pheobe needed to tell it.

"The only reason I came back was because I couldn't afford to stay in New York anymore. The manor was the only place I had to go in San Francisco but I doubt I would have stayed if we hadn't gotten our powers." Pheobe glanced over and saw Paige looking at her in surprise. "You're not the only one who's relationships were forged by magic." She offered a wan smile. "Not quite what you were expecting to hear, huh?"

"Honestly, no. You guys seem so...When you talk about Prue..." she trailed off, not quite sure what she meant to say.

Pheobe nodded. She knew. "It took us a long time to get there." She put her plate aside and reached out, laying a hand on Paige's knee. "And we'll get there too. I promise."

"Well, if you promise then it must be true." Paige said it lightly but Pheobe could see that behind the joke there was seriousness.

She squeezed Paige's arm and the two of them exchanged a smile.

You know what to do.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**:

Sorry for the delay, it took me awhile to figure out the ending because the ending I originally planned just didn't seem right anymore.

This is the second to last chapter in the story. The final one will be an epilogue, just to tie everything up.

Thanks to everyone who read and posted reviews, your comments helped me past the writing blocks when they occured.

piperleoforever21 I liked writing Piper and Leo as a couple. They're such a cute couple.

charmedgirl-alyssaphoebe Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy it. To me, the sister stuff is what makes the show so interesting, so I decided to expand on it a little.

missypaige06 Thanks. :) I think that Pheobe had a harder time than anyone realized. It was fun trying to get inside her head.

Laby Anne Boleyn Thanks. And thanks for reading.

lizardmomma Thanks. Glad you like it.

-0-charmed-freak-0- Thanks. This update took awhile, but I hope it's worth the wait.

**Chapter 12**

It was a rare occasion when Piper was awake before Leo but today she found herself lying on her side staring across the pillow at him and watching him sleep. He looked peaceful, and relaxed just lying there. Not a natural state of being for him most of the time. He usually had so much going on with his charges and their duties as the Charmed Ones that he didn't get a many chances to relax.

That was all going to change now. He would still have his charges but with the three of them without their powers he would have one less responsibility to take care of.

Leo's eyes fluttered and opened slowly as he turned his head, automatically searching for Piper even while he wasn't fully awake. He didn't have to look far. She was lying in bed beside him, positioned on her side with her head propped up on one arm the other draped loosely across his waist. She smiled and the corners of his mouth turned up as well.

"Morning."

"Morning," she replied, shifting closer to him and resting her head against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him and closed his eyes.

Piper closed her eyes as well and let herself be lulled into an almost sleep by the gentle pressure of his fingers as they traced patterns across her shoulders and back.

The muted sunlight that spilled through their window brigtened, becoming a pale then vibrant yellow glow until the whole room was awash with brillant colors and the tone of Leo's touch changed from a gentle caress to something more sensual as his hand slid lower, to her waist. She stirred, and grinning, lifting her head to meet his lips with her own.

None of the sisters were early risers but of the three of them Paige was usually the last one out of bed. Even on the weekends Piper would get up to make them breakfast and Pheobe would indulge in Saturday morning cartoons. Leo, if he wasn't off with one of his charges, would be working on some project or another, likely fixing something that got broken during a fight with a demon. Their movements and sounds would drift upstairs and work their way into Paige's sleep gently pushing her towards wakefullness.

It must have been the silence that woke her up this morning and as she took a moment to adjust to the unusual silence Paige realized how much she enjoyed and had taken for granted waking up to an active household. When Paige had first moved in she'd been accostomed to waking up to the quiet of her loft and the noise had bothered her but now she missed it.

_'Dork,' _she chastised herself as she rolled out of bed and grabbed a long t-shirt to go over her boxers and tank top and headed downstairs.

She found Pheobe downstairs on the couch eating a bowl of cereal and watching Bugs Bunny re-runs. For lack of any better food options Paige poured herself a bowl and joined her older sister on the couch.

It was the first relaxing, demon free weekend that the sisters had spent in a long time and they were all determined to enjoy it. Piper and Leo did so by relaxing and spending time together, they took a hike through the woods and picniced outside by a stream. Paige went shopping spent some time people watching in a cafe in mid-town. Pheobe read and worked out and caught up on emails and sunned herself in the backyard. Ordinary things that they had taken for granted before and missed after they'd become witches.

By Sunday afternoon as the dinner hour approached, Pheobe was growing tired of the restaurant food they'd been eating for the last two days. Friday night, Chinese, Saturday lunch at the deli around the corner, Pizza for dinner and earlier that day they'd eated leftovers from the past two days. They were grown women. Both of them had lived on their own for several years. They should be capable of making themselves a home cooked meal. Just because Piper wasn't around didn't mean that they had to restort to eating out of containers and boxes.

Wondering if Paige would be up for a foray into the kitchen she put aside the book she was reading and headed upstairs.

"Paige, hey," Pheobe began as she pushed open the door to her younger sisters room. "I was thinking..." she trailed off as Paige, who was at her easel, painting, jumped at the sudden interuption and...orbed.

Sort of. Blue-white lights surrounded her and she sort of shimmered before the lights dissapeard and she leaned down to pick up her brush then turned. "Jeez, Pheobe. Pheobs? Pheobe?" she slid her stool and approached, waving a hand in her sisters face.

"You...how did...Leo! LEO!"

Paige clapped a hand over her mouth. "Pheobe, what are you doing? Piper is going to kill you if you interrupt their weekend."

Pheobe pushed her hand away. "You orbed, Paige. I walked in here and surprised you and you orbed."

Paige stared at her in disbelief. "Leo!"

Piper and Leo were sitting together on the couch, watching a movie with only the fireplace to light the cabin. A blanket was stretched over both their laps as Piper leaned against Leo's shoulder and their legs overlapped where they rested on the coffee table. They were content and relaxed when out of nowhere, Leo tensed and cocked his head, as if listening for something.

"Honey?" Piper lifted her head.

"It's Pheobe. She's calling me."

"That little brat." Sometimes she picked the worst times to do something mischevious. "Just ignore her," she said, leaning back against his shoulder.

"Now Paige is calling me." He shifted, sliding forward on the couch.

Piper groaned and stood as he did. "I'm going with you. I'm going with you and you're going to help me in becoming an only child."

Leo wrapped an arm around her shoulder and they orbed out.

A moment later they reappeared in Paige's bedroom. Piper immediately turned her glare on her two younger sisters. "This better be good or-"

"Paige orbed," Pheobe interrupted.

Piper fell silent. Leo's eyes widened in surprise.

"How is that possible?" Piper asked, turning to her husband for answers. He looked just as shocked and confused as she felt.

He shook his head. "I don't know."

"Maybe our powers are coming back?" Pheobe suggested.

"I've never heard of that happening before," Leo said. "A witches power doesn't reinstate itself once it's been stripped."

"Well, we weren't exactly ordinary witches," Pheobe reminded him.

"True. I don't know if that would account for it or not. Maybe I should go check with the elders."

"Yes, do that," Piper agreed and the others nodded. "Go, go."

Leo dissapeared in a flash of light, leaving the three of them waiting impatiently for an answer.

"What are we going to do if our powers are coming back?" Pheobe asked. She dropped down onto Paige's bed. "I was just getting used to the idea of being able to live my life again."

Piper crossed the room and settled on the bed beside her. "I can't believe this is happening." Pheobe leaned against her and she wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "How is this happening? We've been without powers before, they don't just come back on their own."

"I cast a spell." Paige said it so softly that they almost didn't hear her.

"You what?" Piper asked, certain she had to have misunderstood what Paige had said.

"I cast a spell. When the Angel of Destiny was casting his spell to take our powers I cast one of my own, to prevent it." Paige shifted uncomfortably under their attention and her gaze darted around the room, looking down at the floor, the ceiling, the window, anything to avoid looking at her sisters.

Pheobe opened her mouth, ready to demand why she would do such a thing, then flashed on Paige in the kitchen late at night looking forlorn as she asked if they would still want her now that they were no longer witches. She glanced over at Piper, who was staring at Paige, her eyes filling with sympathy.

"I'm sorry," Paige said, still not looking up. "It was stupid. And I didn't think it worked."

Piper pushed herself off the bed and moved towards her sister. "It wasn't stupid," she said, reaching out and laying a hand on Paige's shoulder. "You thought you were protecting something, you're place in the family."

"And, I don't think it did work," Pheobe added, rising and joining her sisters in the centre of the room. "If it had, we probably wouldn't have lost our powers at all."

"You really think?" Paige asked, brightening for a second. Then she seemed to realize that even if it wasn't her spell that had done it they still might be the Charmed One's and even she was starting to like her life demon free

Though Leo was gone only a few minutes it seemed like so much longer. They all turned to him expectantly as he reappeared.

"What did they say?" Piper asked as soon as the lights around him faded.

"The Elders say that you're not Charmed anymore." He turned to Paige. " But you're still a whiltelighter. You're Whitelighter abilities were boosted by your wiccan powers. When you gave them up, it affected your Whitelighter powers as well but it didn't take them away. You're going to have to work to strenghten them. It'll be like when you first discovered your powers, they'll be weak and erratic for awhile."

Paige nodded, surprised to note that she was pleased by this new development. Magic had brought so much good into her life she was glad she didn't have to give it up completely. Paige understood now why her sisters needed to but just because they had made that choice didn't mean that she had to make the same one. And she could make a different choice without losing them. Their paths might be different but their lives would always intersect. They were sisters.

He glanced over at Pheobe. "Your brain has trained itself to receive visions. To always be on alert for them. It's very attuned to the world at large. Even though you've given up your powers that'd not going to go away entirely. Every so often you'll probably get a feeling, a sense that something is going to happen and you should learn to trust those feelings. But you won't be having any more visions."

Pheobe nodded. When they'd first received their powers it had seemed ironic that she would be the one to get the visions because as Prue had said, she didn't have any vision. But she'd grown a lot over the past four years. She'd learned to trust and have confidence in herself. And since they'd given up their powers she'd been feeling a little out of sorts as she tried to figure out who she was without her powers. Less sure of herself. It would be nice to have a bit of self-assurance back.

Leo turned to Piper, "And you are carrying a magical baby. A very powerful magical baby, a half-witch, half-Whitelighter."

"Like me," Paige piped up

"Just like Paige," Leo agreed as Piper laughed and Pheobe threw an arm around Pagie's neck. "There is a lot even the Elders don't know about your pregnancy and the baby but they're assuming that it's powers are going to start early."

"In the womb, early?" Piper asked, remembering the incident in the kitchen with the frozen posts.

"They believe so, yes."

"Oh, this will be fun," Piper said, but she was smiling.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**:This is the final chapter of Charmed? A bit of fluff to tie the story up.

Laby Anne Boleyn  
I thought it was a little unfair that when they voted to give up their powers Paige would also lose her whitelighter abilities. I wanted her to keep that part of herself.

missypaige06

Thanks. I don't have any plans to write any more Charmed stories at the moment. But who knows what might inspire me to write another. Maybe when I see the final season something will hit me. For now though I'm working on some original fiction.

-0-charmed-freak-0

Thanks for reading. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

lizardmomma 

Thanks.

And to everyone else who's been following this story, thank you. It's been fun writing this and you're comments have been encouraging and kind.

I hope you enjoy the ending.

Thanks for making the writing of this such a pleasure.

**Chapter 13. Epilogue**

_18 months later._

Paige orbed into the middle of the living room in a flurry of white-blue lights. "Am I late? Did I miss anything?" she asked, turning to Pheobe with wide, slightly frenzied eyes.

"No, Sweetie. You're not late. Piper's still upstairs getting Wyatt ready and Leo's not even back yet with the cake." She draped an arm around her sisters shoulders and guided her towards the couch. "Why don't you sit down a minute and relax. Give us a chance to catch up. It feels like it's been forever since we've had the chance to talk."

Paige sank down onto the couch, leaning back and stretching her feet out onto the coffee table in front of her as Pheobe settled beside her, pulling her legs up under her and positioning so she was facing her younger sister.

"I know. It's terrible," Paige agreed. Even though they lived together their schedules were so varied sometimes days went by and they didn't spend more than five minutes in the same room. "Between work and my charges..." she turned her head to look at Pheobe. Paige had been promoted up to a social worker, which meant longer hours, including field work, paper work and court appearances. Plus she had started to increase her Whitelighter duties and had taken on a few charges.

"The paper and classes..." Pheobe agreed. She was taking a couple of writing classes at the University to help her with her column plus she had to read and reply to dozens of letters each week. Add to that Piper's schedule at the club and time with Wyatt and chances were that at least one of them was busy at any given time. "How about this weekend? "Me, you, Piper. Girls night out. Or in."

"I can't Friday. I've got a date. Saturday?"

"As long as it's after 8. I've got a late class."

"Do you know if Piper's free?"

"She's got that new manager who can take care of the club. And Leo can watch Wyatt."

"Saturday it is. I hate that we have to schedule time together."

"But at least it's for healthy reasons like work and dating."

"And school," Paige said, giving Pheobe's leg a slap.

"And school, not because we're busy risking our lives fighting demons." Pheobe agreed, a smile tugging at her lips. Nobody was more surprised by her dedication to her job than she was. She had sort of fallen into it and to be honest hadn't expected to love it as much as she did. But she enjoyed the opportunity to help other people -without risking the health and safety of herself and those closest to her-not to mention how good it felt to be in a place in her life where she was able to guide other people through their tough times. For someone who had been as lost as she had been it was quite an achievement.

"True. Very true. Can you believe it's been over a year without demons or warlocks?"

"Sometimes the whole thing seems like surreal but very vivid dream."

Their conversation was interrupted by a muffled cry of "Wyatt, no!" and a very loud crash from upstairs.

"Of course, now we've got something much more difficult to deal with," Pheobe said as they jumped to their feet and headed for the stairs. "A one year old nephew with super-powers."

They reached the top of the stairs and headed for Wyatt's room, which had been Pheobe's room before she'd moved her stuff into the attic.

"Piper, what happened?" Pheobe exclaimed when they rounded the corner and saw that somehow Wyatt's toy shelf had fallen off the wall. Everything that normally sat on it was strewn around the room and Wyatt was sitting happily in the middle of it clutching a stuffed dog and staring up at the three adults who were staring down at him.

"I don't know, exactly," Piper said. "Maybe he wanted a toy off it. I turned around to get his other shoe and the next thing I know the shelf was floating across the room." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess he can sense today's a special day. He's been acting up all morning."

"It's his birthday, of course he's excited," Pheobe said, crouching and scooping Wyatt up into her arms. "You're one years old today. Yes you are."

"I just wish his excitement didn't involve things floating around the room or coming to life," Piper said with a wry smile. She ran a hand through her son's unruly blond hair. "You've been a little feisty today, haven't you Wyatt?" As exasperating as Wyatt was sometimes, Piper loved every minute of it.

Wyatt threw his arms clumbsily around Pheobe's neck and buried his face in her shoulder, suddenly bashful at all the attention on him.

"Faker," Pheobe teased, tickling his ribs lightly.

"This the shoe you were looking for?" Paige asked, leaning over and grabbing a shoe that was hidden half underneath his toy-chest.

"Thanks, Paige." Piper took the shoe and slipped it onto Wyatt's foot while he was distracted. "There, all set birthday boy."

"I'm going to go downstairs and get the camera," Pheobe said, handing Wyatt over to Paige. "I want a picture of him before he gets cake all over his nice new outfit."

Paige adjusted Wyatt's weight on her hip and turned to Piper, who had started cleaning up the mess Wyatt had made. "Allow me." And with a wave of her arm, orbed the shelf and it's belongings back onto the wall. "Magic made the mess, magic can clean it up," she said with a shrug, marvelling, not for the first time, how easy and natural things had become between her and her sisters over the course of the last year and half.

Even though their lives were busy and they didn't always get to spend time together on a daily basis she felt closer to them than when they were demon hunting every day. She could confide in them and they were open with her as well.

Not that they didn't have their problems. They disagreed and they fought. Some days were tough, Prue's birthday was hard, the anniversaries of her death and Paige's parents deaths always brought some tension. Christmas and Thanksgiving were a little bittersweet but they were moving forward and making new memories and when it came down to it, they loved each other and that was enough to keep them going when things weren't so great.

"Are you busy Saturday? Pheobe and I thought we should do something."

"I'm free. Sounds like fun. Leo and Wyatt can go do boy things for a couple hours," Piper said with a smile. "Let's go see if Pheobe has managed to get the lense cap off the camera yet." Piper grabbed Paige's hand and led her out of the room.

Downstairs they found Pheobe in the kitchen fiddling with the camera. She'd managed to get the lense cap off but was was having some trouble with the focus. It was one of Prue's camera's, the first she had gotten after starting her job at the magazine which meant that there were more buttons than any of them knew what to do with but the pictures always came out clear and professional looking.

"Here, give it to me," Piper said with a gentle smile and Pheobe sheepishly handed the camera over.

They had just finished taking a couple (or half a roll) of photo's of Wyatt in his new birthday clothes when Leo strode through the door with a big white cake box followed closely by Darryl, Sheila and their kids and the birthday party got under way.

THE END.


End file.
